Oblivion: Kira's Story
by C-Alliance
Summary: Femslash. Kira has just been convicted of trying to pickpocket Tamriels richest merchant. Now sitting in an Imperial prison, it will take a miricle for her get out.
1. Prison

A/N: Here's a story I've had in my head for a bit. I figured, since there were so few Elder Scrolls femslash stories, I figured I would write my own. So, here you go.

Disclaimer: I don't the Elder Scrolls, Oblivion.

* * *

><p>The Imperial Prison. Considered impenetrable by many and a death sentance to others. Only the most hardened criminals were sent there. Which is why a certain blue haired wood elf was anxiously pacing about in her cell. 'Damn it. Why am I in here? Did the punishment for thieving get worse when I wasen't looking?' The wood elf, who's name was Kira, was caught red handed in Valenwood trying to pick the pocket of one of the most powerful merchants in Tamriel, though she could hardley remember his name.<p>

"Well now, a pretty little wood elf." Kira stopped her pacing and turned to look at the dark elf in the cell across from her, "Your a little far from the forest, huh? Looks like your days of woodland frolicing have come to a tragic end." Kira glared at the dunmer. Oh how she just wanted to beat him until he shut up, "To go from the gladed realm of Valenwood to a rat-infested hole like this... how very sad. These walls must feel like they're closing in on you. Pretty soon, you'll go mad and the gaurds will cut your throat just to stop the ranting. That's right, your going to die in here, wood elf. DIE!" Okay now she wanted to kill him in the most painful way imaginable. "Hey, you hear that? The gaurds are coming. For you! He, he, he."

Sure enough, Kira heard the doors further up the stairs open and voices began floating down the stairs towards them.

"Baurus, lock that door behind us." The first voice sounded distictly feminine and worried.

"Yessir." Came a second voice, presumably this Baurus. This one sounded more masculine then the last one and just as scared and worried as the first voice.

"My sons, they're dead, aren't they?" Came yet a third voice. This one sounded masculine as well, but it had a distinct tone of age and fatigue to it.

"We don't know that sire." Came the female's voice again, "The messenger only said they were attacked."

"No, they're dead, I know it." Replied the older male.

The group was now standing in front of her cell and Kira could see a silent fourth member of the group. The female and two males were wearing what appeared to be darkend brown heavy cuirasses that tapered off at the knee, there legs were protected by the same type of armor that covered there torso as well as their boots, and around there waists hung very nice looking katanas. They were definetly not the normal gaurds.

"My job right now is to get you to saftey." It was the female, and she had just noticed Kira staring dumbly at them, "What's this prisoner doing here? This cell is supposed to be off limits."

The previously silent male, an Imperial, if Kira was correct, spoke up, "Usual mix up with the watch. I..."

"Never mind, get that gate open." the female, Imperial as well, turned her attention to Kira, "Stand back prisoner, we won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way." Kira stepped back a bit.

The male Imperial now turned to her as well, "You, prisoner! Go stand by that window and we won't hurt you."

Kira walked over to the wall next to the window, thinking that maybe the stupid dark elf may have been right all along and they were here to kill her, as the male Imperial opened the gate and went to stand in front of her.

"Stay here." He comannded.

Suddenly, Kira finally took notice of the older male. He was in elegant robes lined with jewels and had an air of regality about him. When he turned to look at Kira, his eye's suddenly went wide with shock.

"You... I've seen you..." He walked over to the now very confused wood elf, "Let me see your face. You are the one from my dreams. Then the stars were right, and this is the day. Gods give me strength."

"What's going on?" Kira asked. To say she was confused was an understatment.

"Assassins attacked my sons, and I'm next. My Blades," he gestured to his three gaurds, "are leading me out of the city along a secret escape route. By chance, the entrance to that escape route leads through your cell."

"That's all well and good, but who are you?" she asked.

"I am your Emperor, Uriel Septim. By the Grace of the Gods, I serve Tamriel as her ruler. You are a citizen of Tamriel, and you, too, shall serve her in your own way."

'A little concieded isn't he.' Thought Kira, "Why am I in this Jail?" surely she didn't deserve to be in this prison.

"Perhaps the Gods have placed you here so that we may meet. As for what you have done..." He paused to take in a breath, "It does not matter. That is not what you will be remembered for."

"I go my own way." She had no love for the Nine. Theives were one of their hated enemies, right below murderers.

"So do we all. But what path can be avoided whose end is fixed by the almighty Gods?"

As the two were talking, the female Blade had moved over to the wall to the right of Kira and pushed in a brick. Suddenly, the wall began to open and the woman turned to the Emperor.

"Please sire, we must keep moving. Better not close this one. There's no way to open it from the other side."

Kira stood and watched them leave through the new hole in the wall, all the while thinking that there was no way this day could get any weirder. After a few minutes of standing there, pondering her new situation, she went throught the hole, following the tunnel until she came across an open area with a locked gate blocking her path. Looking around for another way out, she noticed the body of the female Blade that was accompanying the Emperor near a few red-cloaked corpses.

'They must have been the assassins.' Thought Kira as she looked through the corpses. As she was looking through the dead Blades corpse for weapons, she issued a silent prayer for her. Not normally the religious type, at least with the Nine, she felt that the Blade deserved a prayer for her sacrifice. Taking a short sword and a katana from the woman, she finally noticed a hole in the wall near the locked gate. 'Might as well see where this leads.'

She stumbled through the hole and was imedently hit with the smell of a rotting corpse. 'Oh. Oh gods, where is that horrible smell coming from?' Kira thought as she put her hand to her nose, trying to block out the smell. She searched the area and found a bow and some arrows along with some armor next to a skeletal corpse, which she quickly chucked as it smelled too much of death. Attaching the quiver of arrows to her back and slinging the bow over her shoulder, she looked for a way out. She found a wooden door across the room and a rotting goblin corpse nearby, the sourse of the smell. After finding the door locked, she noticed a key hanging around the dead goblins neck. Forcing herself not to puke, she grabbed the key and quickly opened the door.

As soon as she shut the door, she was attacked by a giant rat. Pushing it off her, she unsheathed the katana she had taken from the dead Blade and sliced right through the rat, cutting it in half. "Damnit." She cursed at her own stupidity. The rat had put a nice sized hole in her shirt across her stomach and a light cut that was bleeding a bit. Luckly, she knew a basic healing spell and quickly patched up her wound, but her shirt was ruined. Discarding the ruined shirt she was left with her brown bra as the only thing sheilding her now naked upper torso, she continued along when she was again hit with the smell of a rotting corpse. Thinking it to be another dead goblin, she pressed on only to see a zombie standing and moaning over a dead rat.

'Crap.' She cursed, 'how am I going to get passed this thing.' She suddenly remembered her basic Flare spell that she learned while breifly in the Valenwood military. Aiming her right hand at the zombie, she quickly mumered the incantation. Almost immediently, her hand lit up and a small fireball shot out of her hand and lit up the zombie like a torch. It ran around for a bit until it colapsed in a heap near the dead rat and stank up the tunnel even more with the smell of burned rotting corpse. 'Ah. Ah! I didn't think it could smell any worse.' She thought as she placed her arm around her nose and pressed on.

Eventually, Kira came across a goblin camp. Using her archery skills she learned in the Valenwood military, she quickly dispatched of the goblins. Also, to add to her luck, she came across a flax tunic, a brownish green shirt to replace the shirt she had tossed earlier. Pressing on, she came to another hole and heard the voices of the two male Blades.

"We should find a definsive spot and protect the Emperor until help arrives." It was the male Imperial. Kira could only imagine what they had to go through to get here.

"Help? What makes you think help will get here before more of those basterds?" It was the Redgaurd, Baurus, this time. "We need to get the Emperor out of here."

Before the other Blade could respond, Kira heard the distinct sound of a conjration spell and heard Baurus yell 'look out' before she heard the sounds of struggle. Kira crept closer in the hopes of getting a better view, but by the time she reached the edge of the wall she was on, the battle was over.

"I think that was all of them. I'm going to take a look around." She heard Baurus say. Deciding that this was the perfect time to introduce herself to the Blades, she leapt down off the ledge... Only to be greeted by the intense glare of the Imperial Blade.

"Damnit! It's that prisoner again. Kill her, she might be working with the assassins." The Imperial said as he approached Kira, sword drawn.

"No. She is not one of them." She heard the Emperor say, "She can help us. She must help us."

"As you wish sire." The Imperial said as he sheathed his sword, looking a little annoyed.

The Emperor walked over to Kira, much to the annoyance of his gaurds, before speaking. "They cannot understand why I trust you. They've not seen what I've seen." He sighed, "How can I explain?" He seemed to pause, looking for the right words, "Listen. You know of the Nine? How they guide our fates with an invisable hand?"

"Look, I'm not really on good terms with the gods..."

The Emperor continued, ignoring Kira's comment, "I've served the Nine all my days, and I chart my course by the cycles of the heavens." He raised his arms in an attempt to be mystical. Instead, only earning a light chuckle from Kira, "The skies are marked with numberless sparks, each one a sign. I know these stars well, and I wonder... which sign marked your birth?"

"What, seriously?" The Emperor nodded, "I was... Iwas born under the sign of... of the... lover." Kira said in a whisper. Suddenly, she heard Baurus burst out laughing.

"The Lover? Really?"

"Yes really!" If there was one thing she hated, it was people making fun of her for being born under the sign of the Lover, "I bet I get more women than you because of it!" The shocked look on Baurus's face at her revelation was satisfation enough for her.

"The signs I read show the end of my path. My death, a nesessary end, will come when it will come." The Emperor said, drawing Kira's attention back to him.

"What about me? What does the Lover say?" Kira asked. Personally, she thought all of this was horse crap, but she was curious none the less to what the old man had to say.

"Your stars are not mine. Today, the Lover shall sweeten your journey as you confront your fate."

'Wow. What an evasive answer.' Kira thought, "Can you see my fate?" She asked.

"My dreams grant me no opinions of of success. Their compass ventures not beyond the doors of death. But in your face I behold the sun's compainion. The dawn of Akatosh's bright glory may banish the coming darkness. With such hope, and with the promise of your aid, my heart must be satisfied."

'Okay... a little criptic.' Kira thought. Then something the Emperor had said seemed to dawn on her, "Hey, aren't you afraid to die?"

"No trophies of my triumph's precede me. But I have lived well, and my ghost shall rest easy. Men are but flesh and blood. They know their doom, but not their hour. In this, I am blessed to see the hour of my death... to face my apportioned fate, then fall."

'Wow.' "So, um. Where are we going?" Kira asked.

"I go to my grave. A tounge shriller than all the music calls me." The Emperor replied, "You shall follow us yet for a while, then we must part." The Emperor gives you a hopeful look before heading back near the door further up. Before Kira can go and join him, Baurus approaches her, looking a little annoyed that the Emperor had allowed her to join them.

"You may as well make yourself useful since your joining us. Here," He hands Kira a torch, "carry this torch and stick close."

Kira follows behind the three of them, helping to fend off any assassins that attacked them until they came to a sudden stop. She then heard the Imperial, Glenroy she had learned, curse.

"Damnit! The gate is barred from the other side! It's a trap!"

"Wait. What about that side passage back there?" Baurus said.

"Worth a try. Let's go." Kira silently followed them until they entered a closed off room with the only exit being the one they had just entered.

"It's a dead end." She heard Baurus say, "What's your call sir."

"I don't know." Glenroy said fearfully, "I don't see any good options here." Suddenly, they heard a noise behind them. "There behind us! Wait here sire." He said to the Emperor before heading off to investigate.

"Wait here with the Emperor, gaurd him with your life." Baurus said to Kira before charging after Glenroy.

Kira could hear heavy fighting going on in the other room and it wasn't long before she heard the death cry of the Imperial Blade. Not long after, the Emperor turns to Kira.

"I can go no further. You alone must stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servents. He must not have the Amulet of Kings!" He unhooks his amulet and hands it to Kira, who quickly pockets it, "Take the Amulet. Give it to Jauffre. He alone knows where to find the heir. Find her, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion."

At that moment, the wall behind him slides open and an armored man jumps out and attacks the Emperor. Kira responds and quickly impales her sword into the man's exposed neck, killing him. Looking to see if the Emperor was alright, she see's that she was too late. He was dead. At that moment, Baurus returns and spots the corpse of the Emperor.

"No... Talos save us..." He turns to look at Kira, "We've failed... I've failed. The Blades are sworn to protect the Emperor, and now he and all his heirs are dead." He looks down at the body and sees that the Emperor isn't wearing his amulet. "The Amulet. Where's the Amulet of Kings? It wasn't on his body."

"The Emperor gave it to me just before he died." Kira said, somberly.

"Strange. He saw something in you. Trusted you. They say it's the dragon blood that flows through the veins of every Septim. They see more than lesser men. The Amulet of Kings is a sacred symbol of the Empire. Most people think of the Red Dragon Crown, but thats just jewelry. The Amulet has power. Only a true heir of the blood can wear it, they say. He must have given it to you for a reason. Did he say why?"

"He said to take it to Jauffre." Kira said. Still in disbelief at the Emperor's death.

"Jauffre? He said that? Why?" Now it was Baurus's turn to be in disbelief.

"He said there is another heir." She said in a whisper.

"Huh. Nothing I ever heard about. But Jauffre would be the one to know. He's the Grandmaster of my Order. Although you may not think so to meet him. He lives quietly as a monk at Weynon Priory, near the city of Chorrol."

"How would I get there? I'm not exactly familer with Cyrodil." Kira said.

Baurus reached into his armor and pulled out a map, handing it to Kira. "Take it, I don't need it. I know the land by heart already." Kira took the map and put it into the pocket opposite the one she had put the Amulet in. "First you need to get out of here. Through that door must be the enterance to the sewers, past the locked gate. That's where we were heading." He explained as he looked throgh his pack for something. "It's a secret way out of the Imperial City, or it was supposed to be a secret. Here," he handed Kira a key he pulled out of his pack, "you'll need this key for the last door to the into the sewers."

"The sewers?" Kira said, a little disgusted that she would have to wade through them to get out.

"Yes the sewers." Baurus said with some annoyence. "There are rats and goblins down there... but from what I've seen of you, I'm guessing your an experianced Pilgim. Am I right?"

Kira smirked a little. She was sure her answer would shock him. "Nope. I'm a thief."

She was somewhat right. A bit of suprise was seen on Baurus's face, but it quickly dissapeared. "I wasn't far off. In any case, rats and goblins won't give you any trouble."

"After the sewers, then what?" Kira asked. She wasn't keen on getting lost in this damned country.

"You must get the Amulet to Jauffre. Take no chances, but proceed to Weynon Priory immediantely. Got it?"

"Got it." She said.

"Good. The Emperor's trust was well-placed." He said with a smile.

"What about you? What will you do?" Kira asked with concern.

"I'll stay here and gaurd the Emperor's body and make sure no one follows you. You'd better get moving. May Talos guide you." He was about to let Kira leave when he noticed the Katana she was using. "By the way, thanks for recovering Captain Renault's sword." He said, taking the katana from Kira. "I'll see that it's given a place of honor in the halls of the Blades."

With that, Kira bid farewell to Baurus and headed for the sewers. After wading through a few rats and goblins, she stood before the exit to the Imperial Isles. Seeing a fairly clear puddle near the exit, the twenty-five year old decided to fix herself up before heading out.

Pulling out a small band from her pocket, she pulled her light blue hair back into a ponytail and straightend her hair out a bit. She also took the time to clean off the blood that had managed to get on her face when she killed the assassin. She also took notice of what she considered her best asset when it came to flirting with the laidies, her bright green eyes.

'Looking good.' She thought as she gave her reflection a wink and headed through the grate to the isles.


	2. Imperial City

Kira had decided to forgo the trip to Weynon Priory for a bit in order to attempt to reconnect with the Thieves guild here in Cyrodil. Though she did not know where exactly it was located, she knew it's former headquarters was based the Imperial City. She also knew that the beggers were considered his eyes and ears in here in Cyrodil and figured she could get the information she need out of them. She did feel bad that she wasn't keeping her promise to Baurus to head directly to Jauffre, but she stilled these thoughts by telling herself that she would only stay in the city for a few days.

As she entered the open area that was the Talos Plaza District, the entrance to the Imperial City, she took in the large statue of the dragon God Akatosh, standing at the center of the district, seemingly standing gaurd against all interlopers.

'Might as well keep moving before the dragon springs to life and tries to toss me out.' Thought Kira sarcastically as she walked passed the statue towards the Imperial Palace district that conected to all the other districts in the city. 'Hold on, what's this?' She was about to head through the large double doors that led to the Imperial Palace district when she noticed a wanted poster with the Grey Fox's picture on it.

'Wanted!' She read, 'The Grey Fox. Wanted for theft, embezzelment, forgery, pickpocketing, counterfeiting, burglary, conspiracy to commit theft, grand larceny, tax evasion, slander, fraud, perfidy and impertinence.'

'Damn,' she thought, 'this guy's got me beat by a long shot.' Attaching the poster back on the wall, she continued towards the district.

After exploring the city for a bit, Kira made her way towards the Market District. She had already managed to bribe a begger into telling her where to find the meeting place for those wanting to join the Thieves Guild, but she wasn't planning on attending for a few days. She had made her way to a shop called 'Jensine's Good as New Merchandice' with the intention of buying provisions she wounld need for sustained travel in Cyroldil. As she entered the shop, she was greeted by the shop keeper, Jensine.

"Hello there. Feel free to browse friend. It's nice to see a new shopper. I was afraid I lost any hope of new buisness ever since Thoronir opened up down the street." Jensine said.

Kira buys a few supplies from Jensine before deciding to ask about this Thoronir.

"Whos's Thoronir and why does he rub you the wrong way?" Kira asked.

Jensine gives Kira a once over before responding, "I think you might be just the kind of person we're looking for. Perhaps you can assist us with a problem we're having here in the Market District."

"Alright then, start from the begining then."

Jensine took in a large breath before starting, "I'm the chairperson for the Society of Concerned Merchants. We, as in the other merchants and myself, formed this group a while back to keep a nice, fair economic balance in town. Not every store is a member, but we're slowly trying to convince them to join." She said proudly before her face darkened, "Everything was fine until Thoronir opened up his shop nearby. Selling all sorts of Merchandise, he undercuts prices like you wouldn't believe. He doesn't always sell what we sell, but it's still a problem."

"People who buy," she continued, "tend to want to spend their money there, leaving little for us. It's getting so bad, a few of us may have to close up shop. He outright refuses to join the Society or even discuss the matter! We are convinced he is up to no good."

'Or he could be one skilled merchant.' Kira wanted to say, but wisely kept her mouth shut.

"What we need you to do is case his establishment and figure out where he gets his inventory. Find some proof of his wrongdoings and let us know." Jensine sighed, "We cannot do it as he recognises all of us. The job pays a fair bounty in gold when he is brought to justice."

Kira thought about for a bit before agreeing to Jensine's request, "Allright, I'll go and check it out."

With that, Kira leaves Jensine's shop and heads over to Thoronir's shop, 'The Copious Coinpurse.' As she enters the shop, she is greeted by Thoronir, another wood elf like Kira, behind his counter. Kira approaches him and buys the book 'A Guide to Chorrol' so as not to seem too suspicious before asking him about his inventory.

"So..." She began, "Where do you get your inventory?"

Thoronir let out a small laugh before responding, "Well, that would be a trade secret. I can't divulge how I pass the great savings on to you, now can I? Just like a baker not revealing his best recipes, I must keep my sources anonymous or every merchant in town would use them." He pauses, considering his next words, "Suffice to say, they are quite reliable and low cost. That way, you walk out with a full coinpurse." He finishes with a smirk.

"Right..." Kira suspected him to be hiding something, but she wasn't going to find out anything this way. Deciding to wait until the store closes, Kira heads outside and waits until Thoronir come out and locks up. She follows him to the 'Merchant's Inn' where he takes a stool and pulls out a copy of the 'Black Horse Courier' while Kira takes a seat on a bench opposite him. Not long after sitting down, one of the barmaids comes over to take her order.

"Well hey there cutie. What are ya having?" The barmaid, a pretty looking Breton woman, asks her.

Kira gives her a once over before responding, "How about you?" she winks at her, which makes the barmaid nearly drop her menu in suprise.

After a few hours of shameless flirting with the bubbly and cheerful barmaid, who's name she discovered to be Lydava, Kira notices Thoronir get up and begin to walk out of the inn/bar. Kira bids Lydava goodbye and follows him out of the bar. After trailing him for a while through the district, they came to a small garden where Kira quickly hides behind a small well out of sight. Thoronir waits for a few minutes before a male Nord appears from the allyway behind him.

"That you Agarmir?" Thoronir asks the other man.

"Shut up. Not so loud. How many times have I told you that?" The other man, Agarmir, chides him.

"Sorry," Thoronir apologises, "I am not used to this kind of meeting. It makes me nervous."

"Well, just shut up and listen to me then. The next shipment will be sooner than I expected. Just have the money ready."

"Same assortment of things? I mean, I have enough clothing for now."

"You'll take what I get. I get notice at the last second and I have to jump on it, no time to be pickey about it." Agarmir snaps.

"Well, that Society is putting more pressure on me, so, maybe we should cut back for a while." Thoronir argues. This only seems to enrage the Nord.

"You cut back now and I'm going to take my buisness elsewhere, or maybe pay a visit to that Jensine and tell her about your little scheme."

"Fine," Thoronir concedes, "you've made your point. Contact me when you have the items and we'll meet again."

"Don't worry, it'll be very soon." Kira could have sworn he looked her way as he said that, but it had to have been her imagination, she was too well hidden, "Now get out of here." Thoronir takes off down the allyway while the Nordic man waits behind for a bit before following. Kira figures that following this Agarmir would be more beneficial than continuing to follow Thoronir. Trailing him all the way to the Talos Plaza District, she writes down his address before heading back to the 'Merchants Inn,' figuring it to be more prudent to break into his house tomorrow. She rents a room for the night and as she is about to climb the stairs to her room, when she is approached by Lydava.

"Hey there. want some company for the night?" She asks with a flirtatious look in her eyes.

Kira, caught off gaurd at the sudden invitation, agrees and the two head up to Kira's room.

* * *

><p>Kira finally manages to make it out of the 'Merchant's Inn' sometime around noon and spent much of the day scoping out Agarmir's house, waiting for him to leave. 'Does this guy ever leave?' thought Kira on her fourth hour of waiting. She had gotten so bored that she had tried reading 'A Guide to Chorrol,' but barely made it to the second page before tossing it into some nearby bushes. Finally, after about another hour of waiting, she spots Agarmir leaving his house. 'This is my chance.' Quickly sneaking over to Agarmir's door, she looks around to make sure no one was looking and deftly picks the lock.<p>

Looking around Agarmir's first floor, Kira marveled at how clean it was. Everything was placed orderly around the room and there wasn't a spot of dust on aything. Oh, how she hated people like this, it made it harder to rob them without making it obvious. Figuring that the evidince she would need to convict Agarmir would not be on the first floor, she made her way to the basement.

If the first floor was the pinnicle of cleanleness, than the basement was it's shamed brother. There was dirt and mud everywhere. Clothes were strewn about on tables, the floor, and one was even crumpled up on the stairs. 'Perfect.' She thought. There was enough evidence here of some kind of crime to put the Nord away for life, but no solid proof. Suddenly, she spoted a journel of some kind on a table next to a muddy shovel, she grabbed it and skimed trough it and was horrifyed at what she found. Agarmir had been digging up corpses and taking clothes and items from them and selling them to Thoronir. With this new information, Kira quickly left Agarmir's house and raced to the 'Copious Coinpurse.'

As she approached, she noticed Thoronir locking up and about to head out.

"I'm sorry, we're colsed." He said without looking away from his door.

"Oh trust me, you'll want to see this." Kira responded, pulling the journel out of her pack.

"Oh it's you!" He said as he turned to meet Kira, "Whats this?" He asks as Kira hands him Agarmir's journel. As he reads it, his face begins to pale. "I... I can't believe what I'm seeing. I'm mortified. To think these things here were once on the bodies of the recently deceased." He paused, looking as if he was struggling to keep his lunch down, "It's just so horrible to comprehend. I don't even know what to say. I guess an apology is not enough. What can I do?"

"Well, you can help me catch Agarmir for starters." Kira replied.

"Yes. That's the least I can do. First and formost, I will never meet with him again, I can promise you that. Secondly, I remember him mentioning a place he had to be this very day." He stroked his chin in thought, "Hmm... yes, thats right. He said that he wouldn't be able to do anything else, as he had something important to do. You don't think he would dog up another... oh no, he wouldn't. But I guess he has been. Oh my, what have I done?" Thoronir was sure he would get the axe for this.

"Don't worry," Kira said, "he won't succed, I'll make sure of it."

"Yes, you do that, and in the meantime, I'll decide what to do with all of these ill-gotten goods." Kira watched as Thoronir headed off towards Jensine's shop before she headed to the last place in Agarmir's journel, the Trentius Family Mausoleum in the Green Emperor Way next to the Imperial Place. Arriving to find the door to the mausoleum open, Kira steeled herself before pushing open the door and entering.

Upon entering the tomb, Kira immediately noticed Agarmir desecrating one of the graves, having already dug a hole and chatting with another man that she did not recognize. Kira cautiously approached Agarmir with her sword drawn, not knowing what to expect from the Nord. As she got closer, Agarmir suddenly turned around, short-sword in hand, to face her while his bodygaurd, and his claymore, went to get behing Kira.

"I had a feeling you'd catch on sooner or later. That's why I had this trap prepared for you. If you'll notice," he points to the grave, "the grave is already dug. This time, it wasn't to take something away, it was to add something. I'm afraid all I can offer you is an unmarked grave."

And with that, Agarmir lunged at Kira, intending to end her quick, but Kira was quicker and dodged his attack before plunging her sword through his chest, killing him. Unfortunatly, she was not fast enough to dodge Agarmir's bodygaurd. The large man managed to clip Kira's left arm before she could roll out of the way. Ignoring her now freely bleeding arm and the pain that was slowly creeping up it, Kira jumped to her feet before launching a simple flare spell at the man who blocked it with his claymore, but obscuring his feild of vision for a few crucial seconds, seconds that Kira used to move behind a pillar out of the mans line of sight.

Using the few moments she had, she tried to figure out a plan to defeat the large, heavily armored man. Going with the most direct route, she sheathed her sword and grabed her bow, made her way behind him, grabbed an arrow from quiver and lined up her shot. At that exact moment, the man turned around and, upon spotting Kira, charged her. Kira waited a split second before she realesed her arrow and watched as it struck him square between the eyes, killing him instantly. Ignoring her now burning arm, Kira grabs the muddy shovel next to the open grave and takes it before heading to the 'Merchant's Inn' to let Thoronir know Agarmir was dead and make sure Agarmir hadn't sent someone to take care of Thoronir.

As Kira enter's the bar/inn, she spots Thoronir at the end of the bar. Ignoring the stares at her still bleeding arm and the pleas from Lydava to stop and rest, she moves in front of Thoronir and places the muddy shovel on the counter in front of him.

"He's dead. This is the shovel he used to dig up the corpses." She said as she held her arm to her chest.

"Then we can at last rest. I feared had he somehow bested you, and it looks like he came close, I'd be next. It is fortunate that your skills exceeded his." Thoronir say's with a light laugh before turning serious again, "I've come to some decicions. I intend to donate all of the money I have made, as well as what is left of my stolen items to the temple. I also want you to know that I had a long discussion with Jensine, and I have decided to join the Socirty." He pauses and looks at Kira's arm, which had thankfully stopped bleeding, "I realize you risked your life to give me a chance and Thoronir never forgets things like that. Please, accept this ring as a humble reward. It's the least I can do to say thank you." Thoronir hands Kira an enchanted rung befire he heads out. Kira pockets the ring before heading up the stairs to her rented room and is followed closely by a worried looking Lydava.

The next day, Kira, after bandaging up her arm the night before with help from Lydava, heads over to Jensine's shop to collect her monetary reward. After discussing the issue of Thoronir, whom Jensine decided not to press charges against, hands you a sack of gold and bids you farewell. Later that night, Kira joined up with the local Thieves Guild and soundlessly defeated her fellow recuits in stealing a book from a resident in the city and reaching the Doyen, the local guild leader, before everyone else. This allowed her to become a full member of the Thieves Guild and got her access to fences who she could sell her stolen goods to.

After joining the Thieves Guild, Kira spent another two days in the city before heading out for Weynon Priory, much to the sadness of Lydava. Kira managed to rectify this by having one of the mage's at the Arcane University in the city enchant two pieces of parchment to allow them to communicate over great distances, though not before she had to clairify that she wasn't looking for a romantic relationship. Though a little heartbroken, Lydava was glad to have Kira as a friend, but still made her promise to visit from time to time. With that, Kira left the Imperial City, heading for Weynon Priory and Jauffre.


	3. Chorrol

Kira stood before Weynon Priory. After nearly a day and a half of travaling, during which time she had explored some ruins along the road and had to fend off a highwayman who thought he could get some easy coin of her. Slowly approaching the double doors to the priory, she took in a deep breath before knocking. After a few seconds of waiting, a monk in black robes opened the door.

"Yes. Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for Jauffre." She said. "I was told he could be located here."

The monk sizes Kira up, trying to determine if she was a threat or not, before moving to the side to allow her through, "He's upstairs." He said, pointing to the stairs behind him.

Kira thanks him and climbs the stairs to the next floor. Looking around, she spots an older Imperial male sitting behind a desk reading a book and figures him to be Jauffre.

"Are you Jauffre?" Kira asks as she approach's the man. He immediantly puts the book down on the desk in front of him and stares at her with an inquisitive look.

"Yes I am. May I ask who you are?"

"My names Kira. The Emperor sent me to find you." She said as the look on Jauffre's face went from inquisitive to shocked.

"Emperor Uriel? Do you know something about his death?" He asked with a suspisious tone.

"Yes. He gave me the Amulet of Kings." Kira said as she pulled out the amulet from her pack.

"You brought the Amulet of Kings? This cannot be. Let me see it." Kira hands the amulet to Jauffre. "By the Nine! This is the Amulet of Kings!" He yells as he stands up and points an accusationary finger at Kira, "Who are you? How did you get this? What do you know of the Emperor's death?"

"Calm down. I helped his Blades when they were leading him out of the Imperial City." Kira said before calmly telling her story, starting from when the Emperor and his Blades had first found her in her cell to when she had tried to defend him against the final assassin, and the last words that he said to Kira.

"As unlikey as your story sounds, I believe you." Jauffre says as he slowley sits back down, "Only the strange destiny of Uriel Septim could have brought you to me carrying the Amulet of Kings."

"So, what does, 'Close shut the jaws of Oblivion,' mean?" Kira asked after a few moments of silence.

Jauffre pondered the words a bit before responding, "His meaning is unclear to me as well. The Emperor seemed to perceive some threat from the demonic world of Oblivion. The Prince of Destruction, Mahrunes Dagon, is one of the lords of Oblivion. But the mortal world is protected from the deadra of Oblivion by magical barriers."

"So, how can Oblivion suddenly threaten us then?" Kira asked.

"I'm not sure. Only the Emperor's truly understand the meaning behind the rituals of coronation. The Amulet of Kings is ancient. Saint Alessia herself received it from the gods. It is a holy relic of great power." He paused, looking for the right way to explain the amulet to someone who had no idea the powers of the amulet, "When an Emperor or Empress is crowned, he or she uses the Amulet to light the Dragonfires at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City. With the Emperor dead and no new heir crowned, the Dragonfires in the Temple will be dark for the first time in centuries. It may be that the Dragonfires protected us from a threat that only the Emperor was aware of."

"I think I have a solution to the heir." Kira said after Jauffre had finished speaking, "The Emperor also asked me to find his daughter and that you may know where she is."

"I am one of the few who know of her existence." He said, leaning back into his chair, "Many years ago, I served as captain of Uriel's bodygaurds, the Blades. One night, Uriel called me into his private chambers. A baby girl lay sleeping in a basket. Uriel told me to deliver her somewhere safe. He never told me anything else about the baby, but I knew it was his daughter. From time to time, he would ask about the child's progress. Now it seems that this illegitimate daughter is the heir to the Septim throne, if she yet lives." He finished darkly.

"Where can I find Uriel's daughter then." Kira asked.

"Her name is Mirrium. She serves Akatosh in the chapel in the city of Kvatch, south of here." He explained, "You must go to Kvatch and find her at once. If the enemy is aware of her existance, as seems likely, she is in terrible danger. And please, let me know if there is anything you need. My resourses here are limited, but I will help in any way I can."

"Thanks. I promise to return with Mirrium, safe and unharmed." She said as Jauffre went to unlock his chest.

After taking some weapons and items from the chest, including a steel bow and some steel arrows, Kira heads out, inteanding to stop in Chorrol first.

* * *

><p>Not long after arriving in Chorrol, Kira is spotted by a young Argonian girl who, upon seeing Kira, skips up to her with a cheerful smile.<p>

"Hello, I don't think we've met. Are you new in town?" She asks when she catches up to Kira. The girl couldn't have been more than seventeen and was bouncing about like she had drank one too many energy potions.

"Yep. Name's Kira. Nice to meet a friendly, and energetic, face." Kira said with a smile.

"Likewise! My name's Dar-Ma. I'm always glad to meet someone new." She said, seemingly amazed that someone was acually being nice to her. "On behalf of Chorrol, Welcome!" She curtseyed before continuing, "I'm sure my mother would be glad to meet you as well."

"Where's your mother work?" Kira asked curiously.

"My mother owns 'Northern Goods and Trade' here in town." She said proudly.

"A merchant? Well, I'm sure we'll get along great." Kira said with a mischievous grin. The two continued to chat for a bit before bidding one another goodbye and Kira headed towards a tavern 'The Grey Mare' just to the south of Castle Chorrol. Upon entering the tavern, Kira quickly spots an older man, who had obviously been drinking heavily, sitting at a nearby table muttering about how his boys were in trouble and how he was a failure to them. Sensing some easy gold, Kira took the seat opposite the man and struck up a conversation.

"So. What's your sad story?" Kira asked the man.

"My sons went off to defend our farm just outside of town, but I fear for their saftey." The man said before taking a huge gulp of booze from his mug.

The man, who Kira learned was Valus Odiil, proceeded to tell the wood elf of his sons, praising them for their bravery and skill, though admitted that Antus, his youngest, could be a bit hard headed. He also chastised his own cowardness and said that he was too afraid to help his sons defend their farm.

"Please," Valus pleaded, "will you help them? I fear that they will die if no one helps them."

"You know," Kira started, leaning in a bit, getting a big whiff of the alcohol on his breath and willing herself not to puke, "you shouldn't ask total strangers for help. Most would just scoff at you and leave." Kira watched as Valus's hopes seem to shatter, "Luckly for you, though, I'm the helpful sort." Valus's hopes returned quickly and his face broke into a huge grin.

"Heh," Valus chuckled, "you almost had me. I'm supposed to meet them at Weynon Priory. You'd best head out now so you can get there in time. I... I need a drink to calm my nerves." Valus ordered another drink as Kira stood up and left the tavern, heading back towards Weynon Priory to meet up with Valus's sons.

* * *

><p>As Kira neared Weynon Priory she could hear the two brothers having an argument about the lateness of their father. Deciding to interupt their argument, Kira walked up to the older of the two brothers.<p>

"Your father isn't coming." She said bluntly.

"What!" Screamed the younger brother.

"Antus, shut up! What do you mean he's not coming?" The older brother, Rallus, asked.

"Your father asked me to come in his stead. He was concered about your saftey and believed he wasn't strong enough to protect the two of you." Kira explained to Rallus.

"I... I think I understand, and it is better that he remain safe, though I wonder why he asked you to take his place."

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"You would join us, though you have no personal stake in this fight? An honorable deed. We gladly accept your help, and I assure you Antus is grateful for it, even if he doesn't show it." As if on cue, Antus stormed off angrily towards the Odiil farm. Rallus sighed, "I guess we should follow him."

Rallus and Kira quickly caught up to Antus who managed to calm down a bit as they neared the farm. Almost as soon as they entered the farm's fields, a group of about ten goblins stormed out of the forest nearby and attacked.

"Here they come!" Kira heared Rallus yell, "Kill them all!"

The battle was short and the goblins supprisingly weak. Kira managed to kill four of the goblins quickly while Antus and Rallus killed the rest before they could retreat back into the forest and bring reinforcements. After clearing the farm of dead goblins, the three of them headed back towards Chorrol to inform Valus of their victory. By the time they got back to Chorrol, darkness had fallen and Tamriel's sister planet was lighting their path back to the tavern.

Almost as soon as they entered the Grey Mare, the three of them were enveloped in a bone crushing hug by Valus.

"Your alive!" Valus exclaimed before releasing them.

"Yes we are father, thanks to your friend here." Rallus said as he put an arm around Kira's sholders, which Kira promptly removed.

"Thank you." Valus said, turning towards Kira, "Thank you so much for helping a foolish old man. Please, take this," Valus reach's into his sack hidden under the table and handed Kira a short sword with a blue tint to it, "Chillrend, it is enchanted with the power of frost. I won't be needing it any longer. My battles are over. I plan to live my days on the farm in peace and quiet." At that moment Antus accidently falls over a chair, "Well, mostly in peace and quiet." Valus laughs before heading over to help Antus up.

Kira uses this opportunity to take her leave before any of them try to get her to stay longer. As she is leaving, she notices Rallus recounting the battle against the goblins to a barmaid, exaggerating bits to make the battle seem deadlier and bigger than it accually was. Kira chuckled before walking outside to the cloudless night, telling herself that she had to tell Lydava of the days events.


	4. The Siege of Kvatch

Kira was almost an hour's walk from from Kvatch when she spotted a frantic looking High Elf man running towards her.

"You must run! They are coming!" The man yelled as he neared Kira. The gaurd holds them back, but they cannot contain them!"

"Who! Who is coming?" Kira asked when the man stopped in front of her.

"No time! Must run faster lest they catch me!" He yelled as he ran past Kira. It was then that Kira took notice of where the man had been coming from, Kvatch. Forgetting about the fleeing High Elf, she picked up her pace, hoping to make it to Kvatch before it was too late.

Twenty minutes later, Kira, slightly out of breath from running the rest of the way, had entered a small camp just south of Kvatch. She noticed a lot of miserable looking souls moving about the camp. Determined to find out what happened, she aproached a Nord woman with a sad, defeated look on her face.

"What happened here?" Kira asked. The woman, who looked as though she had been crying just moments before, turnred to face Kira.

"The city's been overrun by Daedra. Those of us here in camp just barely made it out in time." She chocked back a sob, "My partner didn't make it." She said, fresh tears spilling out.

"I'm sorry." Kira said with sincerity. She may not know what it's like to lose her home, but she could relate to losing someone close to her. Her sister had been killed by Khajiit mercenaries five years prior.

"I don't want your pity elf." The woman said, anger in her voice. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, "If it wasn't for Savlian Matius, we would all be dead."

"Where might I find this Savlian?" Kira asked. As sad as the woman's story was, she needed to find Mirrium and from her cursory scan of the camp, she couldn't see any priestesses here. That was not good as it meant only one of two things; Mirrium was killed in the inital attack, which did not bode well for Kira, or she had managed to find a place to hide in the city and somehow managed to stay alive. Kira really hoped it was the second one.

"He is gaurding the entrance to Kvatch. You'll find him at the barricade at the top of the hill." She said pointing to the winding trail that lead up the hill towards the city.

"Thank you." Kira bid the woman goodbye and headed up the hill to where Savlian was.

As she walked along the path, she began to notice that the sky was begining to get redder and brighter and made her feel like she was suddenly thrown into a crystal ball. When she reached the barricade the Nord woman had mentioned, she spotted some Kvatch city gaurds fending off a few scamps. This however, was not what drew Kira's attention. Where the huge, silver gate to Kvatch should have been was a large, blood red portal, surrounded by what appeared to be living fire that seemed to dance around it. She was brought out of her stupor when one of the gaurds, obviously the leader, approached her.

"Stand back civillian. This is no place for you. Get back to the encampment at once!" He told her. It was then that Kira realized that while she had been staring at the portal, the gaurds had managed to kill the scamps that had been attacking.

"I am no refugee. I'm looking for someone." Kira said to the man.

"And who might that be?" He asked with caution.

"Right now, it's Savlian Matius, who I am assuming is you."

"Your assumption would be correct. I am Savlian." He said crossing his arms while eyeing Kira carefully.

"What happened here?" Kira asked, gestering to the destroyed city.

"We lost the damned city, that's what happened!" Savlian said angrily, starting to pace in front of Kira, "It was too much, too fast. We were overwhelmed. Couldn't even get everyone out, there are people still trapped in there!" Anger quickly turned to frustration as he stopped pacing and went to stand in front of Kira, "Some made it to the Chapel, but others were just run down in the streets. The Count and his men are still holed up in the castle, and now we can't even get back into the city to help because of that damned Oblivion gate blocking the way." He gestered to the portal Kira had noticed earlier.

"You must have some kind of plan. You can't just sit out here and get picked off." Kira argued

"What would you have us do? We can't close that gate and we can't get into the city!" Savlian yelled, his anger rising again. He took a few breaths to calm himself before continuing, "We'll just have to hope the Count or someone from inside the city can protect those still alive. We have to hold this barricade or those beasts could just march down to the encampment and slaughter everyone we worked so hard to save."

"Look," Kira sighed, "I need to get into that city. I came here for a woman named Mirrium." She could sympathize with Savlian, but she also knew that if they did nothing then they put everyone who was still left at risk.

"You mean the Priestess? She was the one leading a group who had been cut off from us to the Chapel. If she's lucky, she'll be trapped in there with the rest of them, safe for the moment. If not..." Savlian's face darkened, determined not to think of such a thing.

"I need her alive." Kira was not about to go back to Jauffre with a corpse, "Tell you what. It's obvious you need help, so just tell me what you need me to do."

"You want to help?" Savlian said disbelievingly, "You're kidding, right?" Kira just glared at him, "Alright, alright. You can help, but it will most likely mean your death."

"The Daedra here must be stopped. I refuse to allow another innocent to die here." She said with determination. She immediantly thought of the Nord womans partner. Dispite what the woman had said, she sincerly hoped that they had made it to the chapel with Mirrium, if only so she could bring some hope back into the survivors left at the camp.

"Okay then. Listen, we need to close this gate, but I don't know how. It must be possible, however because the enemy closed the ones they opened during the initial attack. I sent men into the gate a few hours ago to see if they could find a way to close it, but they haven't come back. If you could get in there, find out what happened to them. If they're alive, help them them finish the job. If not," He paused, truly wishing they were alive, but he didn't want to give himself or his remaining gaurds false hope.

"If not," He continued, "see what you can do on your own. The best I can say is, good luck. If you make it back alive, we'll be waiting." Kira gave him her thanks and headed towards the portal. Kira was once again in awe of the sheer power and energy coming from the portal. She slowly reached her hand out towards the gate and almost as soon as her hand made contact with the blood red gate, she felt as if something was trying to rip out her insides as she was sucked into the realm of Oblivion.

Kira groaned as she stood up, rubbing her temples while trying to regain her senses. Taking a quick look at her new surroundings, her eyes were drawn to the twin towers off in the distance that seemed to lord over the land. Those had to be where the Dremora controlled the gate.

Kira was drwan out of her thoughts when she heard a man yell. Running over to investigate, she watched as the man ran his blade through a scamp. Before the man could rest however, he was attacked by three of the now dead scamps friends and was struggling to hold them off. Unsheathing Chillrend from its holster, she quickly charged the nearest scamp and be-headed it before it could attack the man's unguarded back. Now on even footing, they quickly finished off the last two scamps before the man turned to face Kira.

"Thank the Nine!" He said as he sheathed his sword, "I never thought I would see another friendly face!"

"What happened here?" Kira asked.

"Captain Matius sent us in to try and close the gate, but we were picked off as soon as we tried to cross that bridge." He pointed to the closed off bridge nearby, "I somehow managed to escape, but the others wern't so lucky and are strewn across that bridge." He said in a fearful voice, "I've had enough of this place, I'm getting out of here." Before he could leave though, Kira had Chillrend at the man's throat.

"Listen you coward, you owe those men over on that bridge! If you won't help me, then you will help Savlian and his men hold the barricade outside. Are we clear?" She said forcefully.

"Captain Matius is still holding the barricade?" The man said suprised, "I figured I was the only one from the guard left alive." He paused, thinking over his options. He could either join the surviving guard outside or he could take his chances against Kira, who was in much better shape than he was at the moment. "Alright, I'll go and let the Captain know whats going on. I look forward to retaking the city with you."

With that, the man went back through the portal that had brought them here as Kira pressed on towards the towers off in the distance. After about an hour of wandering around, she finally managed to make it to the larger tower that she had noticed earlier. Swiftly climbing her way up the tower and killing any Daedra in her way, Kira eventually found herself in what appeared to be a torture room where she spotted a man in a cage hanging from the ceiling. Unfortunatly, being so foucused on the caged man, she didn't notice the Dremora guard, a red skined human looking demon, until he used the handle of his broadsword to hit her over the head, knocking Kira to the ground.

"You should not be here mortal! Your blood is forfeit, your flesh is mine!" The Dremora yelled as he raised his broadsword to deliver the killing blow. Before he could however, Kira kicked the Dremora's left leg causing him to stumble allowing her to roll out of harms way and unsheath Chillrend. Unfortunatly, however, the Dremora proved to be better with a sword and Kira was having difficulty finding an opening in his defences while simultaniusly doing her best to keep him from breaching her own defence. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of striking, parrying, and blocking, Kira found her opening and struck the Dremora in his sword arm, causing him to drop his sword and allowing Kira to kill him. Wipeing the blood of her sword, she approached the caged man who began to yell franticly.

"Quickly, quickly! There's no time! You must get to the top of the tower! The Sigil Keep, they call it, thats what keeps the Oblivion Gate open! Find the Sigil Stone, remove it, and the gate will close! Hurry, the guard has the key to the tower!" Kira quickly searched the dead Dremora and pulled out a key from one of his pouches on his armor.

"Got it!" She yelled.

"Get to the Sigil Keep and find the Sigil Stone. Don't worry about me, there's no time! Go!"

"But I can..."

"No! Get going before it's too late!"

Kira reluctantly left the caged man to his fate and continued to climb the tower. When she reached the top, she used the key on the door and was greeted with am amazing sight. At the center of the room was a near blinding light with a stone right in the center. Moving cautiously towards it, Kira carefully removes the stone from it's pedestal. As soon as she placed the Sigil Stone in her magically infused pack, something she had 'acquired' from the Arcane Universaity, the room began to shake violently and peices of the ceiling began to fall around her. Just as a larger peice of the ceiling was about to crush her, she was ripped out of the Oblivion Plane and roughly collided on her right side in front the barricade outside the city.

"Thank the gods your alive!" Savlian said as he ran over to Kira to help her up, "We thought you were a goner for a while there."

"Not dead yet, thank Azura." Kira said as she stood up and praised the Daedric Princess of dusk and dawn. Kira may have despised some of the Daedra, mostly Molag Bal and Mephala, but she still worshiped and admired Azura and all good thieves made some sort of offering to Nocturnal. "What happened?"

"Well, we were hoping you could tell us. You went in the gate and a few hours later the gate closes and you come flying out at us." Savlian said.

"Just how I planned." Kira said sarcasticly.

Savlian laughed a bit before turning serious again. "Look, I know you just went through an experiance that would break lesser men, but I need you to come with us. You've proven invaluable. Please, help us reclaim Kvatch."

"Good thing I'm not a man. Of course I'll help you reclaim Kvatch. Lets show these basterds what were made of!" Kira said enthusiastically.

"Great!" Savlian exlaimed happily before turning to the five remaining guards, including the man Kira had rescued, "You heard the woman, move out!" With a battle cry that would make Tiber Septim himself jealous, Savlian and Kira led the charge into the city and swiftly wiped out the small group of Scamps wandering outside of the chapel. As soon as the last scamp fell, Savlian and Kira led the guards into the chapel. When the Chapel doors closed, Savlian approached one of the two Kvatch guards in the Chapel, a Redguard woman.

"Report soldier." Savlian said to the woman.

"Sir!" The woman said, giving a quick salute to the captain, "We're all thats left. Me, Beriah, and these civillians."

"That's it?" Savlian said disbelievingly, "There's no one else?"

"Their were others sir, but they refused to stay put. We tried to convince them it was too dangerous, but they left anyway. I guess they didn't make it." The guard finished sadly.

"Thats not exactly what I wanted to hear. Very well, the area outside the Chapel has been cleared and these people need to be taken to safety. I need you and Beriah to escort them to the camp south of here at once"

"But sir! I want to help fight!" She complained.

"Enough!" Savlian snapped, "Escort the civillians to the camp ot once!. If we fail, you two will be all that stands between the camp and the Daedra. If you don't here from us in an hour, I want you to take the civillians to Skingrad. Understood?"

"Yes sir." The Redguard woman said as she and Beriah led the civillians out of the Chapel. When the last of the civillians had left, Savlian approached Kira once more.

"Alright, listen. We need to retake the castle and rescue the Count. It won't be easy as they have no doubt fortified their postitions upon learning of our counter attack. I won't blame you if you decide to leave now." Kira pretended to think about it, causing Savlian to panic a bit, before responding.

"Of course I'll help you retake the castle." She said as though it were obvious, "So what's the plan? Storm the place and hope for the best?" She said jokingly. Unfortunatly, it seemed as though Savlian appeared to be considering it.

"That may be the only thing we can do right now." He sighed and called over the five remaining guards to discuss the plan. "Alright, heres the plan. We'll start by breaking through the front gates and killing any of the bastereds that get in our way. After that, we'll secure the main hall and send our friend here and one other guard to find the Count while the rest of us make sure that they can't send in any reinforcements from the city. Are we clear?" After getting a 'Yes, sir,' from the five guards and a 'Sure, yeah,' from Kira, Savlian led them out of the Chapel and towards the castle.

The battle for the castle was easier than any of them had expected and within minutes the seven of them had managed to reclain the main hall and Kira, along with one of the guards, began making their way towards the Counts chamber to look for him. Upon entering the chamber, they immediately took notice of a Daedroth, a large bipedal, seven foot crocodile like creature, standing with it's back to them over a dead, half-eaten count.

"What in Talos's name is that!" The nameless guard exclaimed before Kira could put her hand over his mouth.

The Daedroth, upon hearing the man, quickly turned to face Kira and the guard. Before either of them could react, the Daedroth charged them, knocking Kira against a nearby wall and compleatly crushing the unfortunate guard. Quickly staggering to her feet, Kira launched a small fireball at the massive creature, hoping to stun it, but instead only seemed to piss it off more. As it prepared for another charge, Kira pulled out a conjuration scroll and summoned a flame atronach, a fire entity that resembled a woman made entirely of fire, behind the Daedroth, who immediately began lobbing fireballs at it.

When the Daedroth turned around to fight the new enemy, Kira ran up behind it and jammed Chillrend into it's skull with all the force she could muster, killing it instantly.

"Thank you." Kira said to her summoned atronach as she sheathed Chillrend. The atronach just looked at Kira for a moment before nodding her head towards her and disappearing in a wall of fire, leaving behind a note and a scroll were she once stood. Picking up the note, Kira read, 'Use this scroll whenever you need me.' Smiling softly, she rolled up the scroll and placed it in her breast pocket before heading back to Savlian and his four remaining guards in the main hall.

"Where's Tannen? What happened to the Count?" Savlian asked as soon as he saw Kira.

"Dead. Both of them. I'm sorry." Kira replied solemnly.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault." Savlian paced around a bit, cursing under his breath. "Then there's nothing more we can do other than clear out the remaining Daedra in the city. Come on."

After helping Savlian and his guards clear out the remaining Daedra in the city, Kira bid him goodbye, refusing any reward he offered for her help, and headed down to the camp to look for Mirrium.


	5. A Countesses Prize

It had taken three days to get to Weynon Priory after Kira had convinced Mirrium to meet Jauffre. Mirrium had been skeptic at first when Kira had told her that the Daedra had attacked Kvatch to try and kill her, but had eventually relented because of Kira's help in liberating the city and followed her.

Weynon Priory, though, had been a disaster. When the two women had arrived, the area had been overrun with the same red cloaked assasins that had killed the Emperor and most of the monks were already dead. Luckly, though, Jauffre had managed to hold his own and with Mirrium and Kira's help, had managed to drive off the remaining assasins, but not before they had taken off with the Amulet of Kings. After clearing the priory of anything useful, the trio had taken some of the horses from the nearby stable and had ridden non-stop to a fort, Cloud Ruler Temple, that was situated near Bruma and that Jauffre constantly assured was nearly impenetrable to all but the most determined attacks.

* * *

><p>Kira and Mirrium were currently standing outside of the main temple at the fort where Mirrium had just finished giving a short speech to the Blades stationed there.<p>

"Listen," Mirrium said as soon as the gaurds cleared out and went back to their duties, "I just wanted to thank you. I'm sure I would be dead by now if you hadn't come for me."

"Don't worry about it." Kira said with a dissmisive wave, "Those people needed help and I was in the area."

"I still can't believe the Daedra destroyed the whole city just for me." Mirrium said sadly as she headed for the sleeping quarters.

"Tell you what. How about we scope out the fort sometime tomorrow." Kira said as she followed Mirrium, "Lets see if we can't get your mind off of Kvatch. What do you say?" She asked as she headed for the bed at the far end of the room and began stripping off her armor. Realizing what Kira was doing, Mirrium quickly turned her head away from her with a blush creeping up her face.

"S-sure, that would be nice" She stammered out, glancing over at Kira every now and then to see if she had made herself decent yet, or at least that's the excuse she kept telling herself. Kira, however, was content to stand there in her underclothes.

"You had better get some sleep. Something tells me Jauffre will want us training and preparing almost non-stop for a while."

"T-thanks, but I think I'll head to the temple's library for a bit brfore turning in." Mirrium said, trying to hide her blush from the blue haired elf.

"Alright, see you tomorrow then." Kira said, climbing into the bed. Mirrium took one last look in her direction before she went to look for the library.

* * *

><p>Over the next month, Jauffre gave Kira little time to talk to Mirrium as he had her training at nearly all hours of the day. Mirrium however was content to just find a spot near the training hall and either read or watched Kira train. She had realized she had fallen in love with the wood elf around their first week at the fort, but was unsure what Kira's feelings for her were. Sure, Kira flirted and teased her every chance she got, but she also flirted with nearly every other female at the fort which made it hard to determine what her true feelings for her were.<p>

Kira, though, was mostly oblivious to the brunette woman's true feelings for her and continued to flirt with the majority of the female population at the fort. She had noticed Mirrium sneaking glances her way when she thought the elf wasn't looking and assumed that she just had a hero crush on her from saving her and the people of Kvatch. Despite being worried that she would send the wrong signals, Kira just couldn't resist teasing the Imperial by doing things like removing her shirt during training when she knew Mirrium was watching her (she prefered training without one anyway, much to Jauffre's annoyance), or 'accidentally' climbing into Mirriums bed while she was asleep after an intense day of training, claiming that she was too tired to notice.

All of Kira's teasing was driving Mirrium crazy. It was making it difficult for her to think clearly. In her thirty years of life, no one had ever made her feel like Kira did, and the woman didn't even know that she was stirring up these feelings. So she made her decision. Tonight, she would confess to Kira.

* * *

><p>Mirrium sat up as soon as she recognized Kira's footsteps. Kira stopped as soon as she realized the brunette was still awake.<p>

"Mirrium? Why are you still up?" Kira asked, moving to sit on her bed.

"I, I have something I w-want, no, need to tell you." She stammered out, twiddling her fingers nervously.

"Well? What..." Kira was cut off by the brunette's lips on her own. After a few seconds, which felt like an eternity to Mirrium, she pulled away and sat back on her bed.

"I, I love you. There I said it." Kira just sat in shock, much Mirrium's dismay, when she suddenly bolted up from her bed and ran out of the sleeping quarters. Mirrium had never cried harder in her life.

A few hours later, Kira returned to the sleeping quarters, confident that Mirrium was asleep, and grabbed her things as quickly and quietly as she could before finding Jauffre, who never seemed to sleep, and letting him know that she was taking off. When questioned why, she just said it was personal.

* * *

><p>By the next morning, Kira was in Bruma, drowning her sorrows away at the local tavern. She knew she shouldn't have ran, that she should have stayed and tried to smooth things over with Mirrium, but she couldn't. She didn't know why Mirrium's confession of love scared her so much, but it did and she didn't know how to handle it, so she did the one thing she was good at. She ran.<p>

So she sat there, hoping that the next glass of alcohol would be the one to make the woman at the end of the bar look more attractive. Even when it didn't, though, she approached the woman anyway and convinced her to a one night stand. She was hoping that the girl would at least be good enough to distract her from her own conflicting emotions for the brunette priestess.

However, when it became apparent that it wouldn't be enough to distract her, Kira just left the room about halfway through, much to the other woman's annoyence, and wandered about the city.

About two hours later, and a lot of magika to cleanse her system of alcohol, Kira was approached by a man who introduced himself as the Countesses steward. He told her that the Countess had reqested her personally for a very important mission and that it would pay very handsomely. Not having anything better to do, Kira followed the man back to the castle.

A few minutes later, Kira stood in the throne room as the steward went to find the Countess. A few moments after that, the steward returned with, in Kira's opinion, the most beautiful woman in all of Tamriel. The Countess was wearing an elegant blue silk dress that fell below her feet, but didn't seem to drag along the ground as she walked. Her brown hair was done up in a braided pony-tail, but it was her orange eye's that managed to draw Kira in. She was so focused on the Countesses eyes that she almost didn't hear the steward clear his throat to bring her back to reality.

Kira glared at him before bringing her attention back to the Countess.

"I am Countess Narina Carvain. Welcome to my castle." She said as she sat down on her throne.

"Your steward said you had a job for me." Kira said, faking a bored tone.

"Straight to the point. I like that."

"Really? What else do you like about me?" Kira responded giving the Countess a flirtatious wink. Narina blushed a bit, but flirted back.

"Wouldn't you like to know." She says with a flirtatious wink of her own.

Before Kira could respond, however, she was interupted by the steward.

"M'lady, didn't you have a task for your 'friend' here?" Kira glares at him again.

"Right," Narina sends a glare of her own to her steward before turning her attention back to Kira, "I assume you've noticed all of the Akaviri relics I have on display." She gestered to the many relics spread about the room.

"Nope. I was too distracted by your beauty to notice." Narina blushed again.

"Yes, well. It's safe to say that I'm a collector of sorts. I've invested a great deal of time and money acquiring these bits of ancient history." She stood up and walked over to one of the display cases, "In fact, I'd be so bold as to proclaim my collection the most compleate in all of Cyrodiil," she paused, turning to Kira, "except for one thing."

She headed back to her throne and sat down before continuing, "A particular relic has eluded me for many years. Possessing this piece of Akaviri antiquity would make my collection complete."

"And this relic would be?" Kira asked.

"The Draconian Madstone."

"Forgive my ignorance, but what is the Draconian Madstone?" Narina's face lit up, talking about Akaviri relics is one of her favorite pastimes.

"The stone is a fine bit of Akaviri craftsmanship." She stood up again, moving in front of various display cases again, "It is said that the Madstone can protect the wearer from any type of poison."

"Impressive." Kira said.

""Yes, it is." Narina replied before continuing, "The Madstone appears as a snake coiled around and encircling itself. The eyes of the snake are supposed to be precious gems, or something." She waved her hand dissmisivly, like she didn't really care about the gems, "Through my sources, I've learned that the last reported location of the Madstone was the ruins of Pale Pass."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but isn't Pale Pass supposed to be a legend, or something."

"Not quite." Narina moved to stand in front of Kira, "Over the last few months, I've been sending scouts out into the Jerall Mountains. Three weeks ago, one of my scouts returned with some interesting news. He said he had found the Pale Pass ruins." Narina sighed before continuing, "Unfortunatly, he said it was too dangerous to approach the ruins. Something about trolls or something. Anyway, I would like you to go to the ruins and find the Draconian Madstone."

"Let me get this straight." Kira said, crossing her arms over her chest, "You want me to go, alone, to the dark, dank, and deadly ruins to find some amulet that may or may not be there."

"I can promise you that the reward will be great if you bring back the Madstone."

"Tell you what," Kira said as she uncrossed her arms, "I'll go looking for your Madstone, if you let me choose my reward when I get back. Deal?"

Narina paused to think about Kira's offer before she responded, "All right, you have a deal." The two women shook hands before Narina had her steward give Kira the map to the location of Pale Pass and bid her goodbye.

* * *

><p>Three days later, Kira returned to the Countesses throne room, Draconian Madstone in hand.<p>

"Here you go, The Draconian Madstone." Kira said, holding up the amulet for Narina to see.

"By the Nine. It's even more beautiful then I imagined." Narina said as she stood and walked over to Kira. She took the amulet from her and carefully placed it in one of the display cases before turning back to the wood elf. "Now then. What did you want as your reward?"

"You." Kira said without hesitation.

"W-what?" Narina stares at Kira in shock, as if she couldn't believe she had said that, while her stward just glared angrily at Kira, looking as though he was about to explode. Which may have been true as Kira swore she saw smoke coming out of his ears.

"I want you as my reward." Kira said again as though it was a normal thing to say to a Countess.

"I, I don't know. I mean, I barely know you."

"Alright, then. How about I take you out to dinner first."

The Countess is quiet for a few moments before she responds, "All right, I did say you could have any reward. But I reserve the right to end this outing at any point in time if I don't like it."

"Alright then. Lets go." Kira holds out her arm for the Countess and the two, plus Narina's bodygaurd, leave the castle arm in arm.


End file.
